Nigeria, France step up joint fight against Boko Haram

Nigeria and France on Thursday signed an agreement on closer military cooperation, including intelligence sharing, to strengthen the fight against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region. Nigerian Defence Minister Mansur Dan Ali said the agreement was evidence of a “growing partnership” between Abuja and Paris, as he met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in the capital. France has provided satellite images and surveillance footage from Rafale fighter jets based in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, which have flown over the main conflict area in northeast Nigeria.